Objective: The study objective was to examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and relationships to quality of life and demographics in the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study's large, ethnically diverse youth with type 2 diabetes.
Research design and methods: A total of 704 youth with type 2 diabetes <2 years' duration, aged 10-17 years, and BMI ≥85th percentile completed depressive symptoms and quality of life measures.
Results: Some 14.8% reported clinically significant depressive symptoms, and older girls had significantly higher rates than older boys.
Conclusions: Rates of significant depressive symptoms were similar to those of healthy adolescents and lower than those of teens with type 1 diabetes. Elevated depressive symptoms, particularly in older girls, suggest clinicians assess vulnerability.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00081328.